About Melbourne Cup 2018 Event

Australia is home to one of the greatest horse races in the world, for those who have never heard of it The Melbourne Cup is a sporting event that literally brings a whole nation to a complete stop.

Australia is world famous for its sporting pedigree and Australians love to play sport at almost any level. As well as participating, many Australians love to follow their local teams and every weekend arenas and stadiums are full to the brim with expectant fans, cheering on their heroes.

But one particular event unites a whole nation and that is the Festival featuring the prestigious Melbourne Cup. It is THE race for thoroughbred horses and one of the richest races in the world.

Melbourne Cup Carnival November 2018

Most of the people heading to Melbourne on November the 3rd will be doing so to attend the Melbourne Cup Carnival. A week long festival of horse racing that captures the attention of not just Australians but the whole world.

The week’s long festivities start on Saturday the 3rd November with AAMI Victoria Derby Day, where high fashion is just as important as the first-class racing. Regarded as one of the most prestigious racing days of Spring the racing card features nine races, four of which are Group 1 level.

Lexus Melbourne Cup Day

Tuesday 6th November is the main event and it is Australia’s most sporting and cultural event of the year, it is the prestigious and iconic Melbourne Cup Day sponsored by Lexus.

This year there is an incredible AUD 7.3million in prize money to be won, which makes the Melbourne Cup one of the richest horse races in the world.

Melbourne Cup Day transcends all major sports events around the globe, it combines horse racing with high fashion, entertainment and celebrities. And the big race has a habit of producing high drama as the finest thoroughbred horses on the planet vie for victory.

There is truly no even quite like the Melbourne Cup and that is why the whole of Australia comes to a halt on Cup Day. The first race on the card starts at 10:50am which starts the excitement building until the appointed hour of 3pm.

During the day as well as the fantastic races, the punters can enjoy performances from The Presets, Sam Smith, Yo! Mafia plus join in with all the fun events.

Kennedy Oaks Day

The Kennedy Oaks Day takes place on the Thursday of the Melbourne Cup Festival, and it is also an opportunity for the ladies to get involved with the fashion. The Kennedy Oaks day traditionally has style and grace written all over it, and not just for the ladies, recently men have been encouraged to join in, dress up and explore the new fashions.

The highlight of the racing is of course the Kennedy Oaks which is a top notch Group 1 horse race. The race is for three-year-old fillies and is a test of stamina and endurance.

Seppelt Wines Stakes Day

The Melbourne Cup Festival ends on Saturday 10th November 2018, with the Seppelt Wines Stakes Day. Flemington is buzzing as friends get together to celebrate yet another successful Cup Festival week.

It is very much a family day, where things off the track are a little less hectic and people gather for a day out filled with fun for the whole family. The racing is still top class and the card features two Group 1 races.

The Seppelt Mackinnon Stakes is the ultimate weight-for-age test and this year AUD 2 million is up for grabs. Whilst for those who like sprint racing there is the fantastic VRC Sprint Classic featuring some of the world’s fastest horses.

The Melbourne Cup 2018 Favourites

Kings Will Dream is the early favourite for this year’s Melbourne Cup, trained by Darren Weir this horse was unbeaten in his first five races in Australia and looks in good nick. And the two horses that will probably give Kings Will Dream a run for his money is the Ian Williams trained Magic Circle, and the highly fancied Torcedor trained by Andreas Wohler will certainly be up with the pace.

But should you put your money on the favourite to win the Melbourne Cup? Well statistics do not back favourites very highly. Out of the 157 previous Melbourne Cups only 34 favourites have gone on to win.

These stats back the policy that a wise gambler may look beyond short priced horses for the big event. Backing horses with longer odds in the Melbourne Cup can often lead to big dividends especially when laying down a Place bet. The large field backs this strategy up as there is often generous Place odds for outsiders.

However you want to bet, there is no doubt that we are all in for a sporting treat at 3pm on Tuesday 6th November, as once again the iconic Melbourne Cup steals the attention of an expectant Australia and also racing fans from all over the world.